Progress

First we want to give an update on our son Paul.  Four months ago, Paul suffered a stroke which numbed the right side of his body and blinded the right half of his vision in both eyes.  We praise the Lord that he quickly recovered the use of and feeling in his body.  Small sections of his vision returned, but he was still left with blind spots that made reading difficult and prevented him from driving.  Early in January, Paul met with an eye specialist who examined him and told him that driving would not be allowed.  However, last week, he saw a low-vision specialist who examined him again and gave him permission to drive.  He will need to drive as if he was learning all over again, beginning with just driving during daylight hours and in town, but we are thanking God for this great step.  Thank you for all your prayers.  We are believing for God's miracle touch and full sight to be restored.

Our son Paul enjoying driving again

We are adjusting to life in Romania.  This week we successfully ordered and received a package from Amazon UK at our new address.  Another package, Mike's books for the next course for his master's degree, should be arriving tomorrow.
Also last week, we had a couple of Romanian language lessons with Marcela, an English teacher who has interpreted for Mike a few times.  She is very busy with her regular classes plus tutoring and would have a difficult time meeting with us on a regular basis, but she was happy to recommend a company that offers Romanian classes for foreigners in Cluj.  Today we learned they have a six-week course beginning on Friday.  That will mean driving the 45 minutes to Cluj on Tuesdays and Fridays for a while, but we hope to learn enough Romanian to be able to speak with our neighbors and friends.
The church continues to show us love in many ways.  They are generous with their smiles, hugs, meals and words.  We continue to pray and seek the Lord for his guidance, asking for a fresh outpouring of his Spirit on Gherla.  Thank you for praying with us.

Spiritual Legacy

Saturday we were saddened to hear the news that Karen Rose passed away in the US.  Karen worked as a missionary here in Gherla, Romania for many years and had a great spiritual influence on many people in the town and around Romania.  Karen worked with the orphanages, in the prison and in the church with passion and faithfulness.  We are sad that she is gone, but confident that she is with the One she loved the most.  We pray that we will faithfully continue the good work she left behind.

Karen Rose visiting elderly Romanian woman

 In 2012, before one of our weekend visits to Gherla, Karen asked that we bring with us a Hungarian Bible for one of the elderly ladies she knew.  When we arrived, she took us to visit the grandma so we could present the Bible to her.  This lady, like about ten percent of the people in Gherla, was an ethnic Hungarian but had never had a Bible to read in her mother tongue.  Karen cared very much for every person she ministered to and we pray that we will share the love of the Lord with others as well as she did.

Fasting and Praying

Gathered in a circle for prayer at prayer meeting

We are settling in well in our new home, meeting our neighbors and getting used to where things are.  Work is progressing on gathering the necessary documents to apply for residency permits and every day we are learning how to do things the Romanian way.

On Tuesday we met with Pastors Simi and Gabi Hosu to begin planning for our two-year stay in Gherla.  It was unanimously agreed that our first task is to seek the Lord together in prayer for his direction.  It is the Lord's timing that the church began a 40-day fast on Monday.  As we fast and pray, God will show us where we fit into his plans.  Thank you for praying with us.  God is already at work.

Successful Arrival in Romania

Jet lag is slowly easing and boxes are finally being unpacked in our new home in Romania.  It has been a long week of travel and moving for us.

Last Friday evening, we arrived at the Des Moines airport having already checked in online and presented our three bags to be checked.  We were told it would cost us over $400 for our bags even though this was the return trip on a round trip ticket, and there was no charge for two bags on the trip to Des Moines!  After fervent prayers and a fruitless call to customer service, a kind supervisor sorted out our dilemma and charged us just over $80 for the extra bag.  Praise God! We finally left Des Moines, flew to Chicago and boarded a plane to London.  After a six-hour lay-over in Heathrow Airport, we flew to Budapest, Hungary where we fell into bed about midnight local time.  The next morning we took a transfer van to Debrecen.  There we picked up our car and a few small items, paid the car insurance, met with a few friends, and attended a prayer meeting at the Debrecen Open Bible Church.  Tuesday morning we packed our tiny car to the brim with all our stuff and began the five-hour drive to Gherla, Romania.  We prayed for safe travel and realized when we reached our destination on dry roads that snow had fallen behind us the entire way.  Praise God for watching over us!

Waiting for our flight out of the Des Moines airport

We were welcomed to Gherla by Pastors Simi and Gabi Hosu and their two sons.  After helping us unpack our car and showing us around our new home, we were all invited to have pizza at a church member's home.  The next day, Pastor Simi and his son Elias took us to the internet provider's office to sign up for phones and internet.  Unfortunately, foreigners without a residency permit cannot sign a contract for service.  Pastor Simi and Gabi graciously signed the papers for us and we now have phone and internet service.

Our new home in Gherla.

Thursday evening we attended church and were welcomed again with much love.  Both our Romanian friends and we are expecting great things from God in Gherla in the coming two years.

Gabi translates for us as we greet the people.

We praise God for his goodness to us, for the safe trip, for the kindnesses we have received and for the many people who have helped us.  Thank you to everyone who prayed for our trip and who continue to pray for us.